Everything You Don't Say
by Thundercloudfantastic
Summary: What happens if the kiss is just a dream...
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This is a short multi-chapter fic told from Danny's POV. **

_He was kissing her and running his hands all over her body. This was Amazing…_

"Danny. Danny. Danny! Wake up!"

Danny jumped. "Huh. What's going on, Min. Where are we?"

"We're home, Danny. Back in New York City! The greatest city in the world!"

Danny sat up in his airline seat and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes as he looked out Mindy's window and saw New York City in the horizon. It suddenly dawned on him that it was just a dream. He hadn't gotten out of his seat and walked back to the galley where she was standing after the turbulence hit. He hadn't actually kissed her. And he certainly hadn't confessed that he had un-lamp-like feelings for her!

Instead, he had sat paralyzed in his seat until she returned moments later with bottled water, stupid, plain ole' bottled water.

The kissing seemed so real and yet it wasn't.

* * *

"I'm sorry, Danny. They didn't have any tonic water. Since I know you don't like seltzer water with the whole spitting up in the car incident yesterday, I brought you back this." Mindy stated as she handed him regular bottled water.

"Thanks." he whispered.

"I'm beat." she said, while letting out a big yawn. "Writing that love letter to Cliff…well, okay, typing up your words really took it out of me. I'm going to try to get some sleep before we land. Night, Danny."

"Good night, Min."

Danny was internally kicking himself, wondering why he didn't get out of his seat. He realized that he had let his chance to make a grand romantic gesture to win her heart before they landed and she fell into the arms of Cliff slip by him. Instead of seizing the moment like in one of those movies Mindy liked to watch so much, he just sat in his seat like an idiot unable to make himself get up.

For a man who prided himself on acting like a man most of the time, he sure knew how to act like a big sissy when it really counted.

He looked at her and sighed. She looked almost peaceful when she was sleeping. Beautiful really. He reached down and brushed some of her hair out of her face. She stirred a little bit but didn't wake up. He sighed again. She was right about one thing, pouring out your heart and soul can really take it out of you.

His eyelids were getting heavy. He needed to get some sleep too. _Maybe I'll come up with some bright idea of how I'm going to get myself out of this mess while I'm sleeping_, he thought.

He closed his eyes and drifted into sleep.

* * *

The dream was so vivid. He didn't usually remember his dreams but _This One_ was seared into his brain and it made him realize just how much he wanted her. He stole a look out of the corner of his eye. Mindy was looking down and studying her phone. She had turned it on as soon as they landed much to his chagrin.

"Oh God, Danny! He's here."

"Whose here?" he asked. He knew she was talking about Cliff, but he didn't want her to know that he knew.

"Cliff. Who else? Seriously, Danny! Sometimes you can be so obtuse."

His stomach dropped. "That's great, Min. That's what you wanted, right?" The statement being more of a question then he intended.

She didn't respond. She was too busy reading the subtext to whatever text Cliff had sent her.

Danny couldn't bear to look at her again. He was staring straight ahead, watching as each row ahead of them began to exit the plane and, with each new row, his opportunity to make a move was dwindling. In less than five minutes, he knew it would be too late.

He stood up to retrieve their bags from the overhead compartment, taking his time before he handed her bag to her.

"Thanks," she said as she grabbed it from him and began walking down the aisle towards the exit.

"Mindy."

She turned around and looked at him expectantly. He didn't say anything. He wanted to say something but he was finding it very hard to form words at the moment – any words, in fact. His brain was screaming out everything that he wanted to say but the words weren't making it to his lips. _Damn you lips_, he thought. All he could do was just look at her.

_I could do it right now, he thought. It wasn't too late – was it? She wasn't with Cliff yet. I could just kiss her right here and right now and tell her how I feel and then deal with the consequences of my actions whatever they may be_.

His heart was beating so fast. He was sure you could see it pounding out of his chest if she just looked close enough. He could feel tiny beads of sweat starting to form on his brow.

While he was quickly turning into a sweaty mess, he couldn't utter the words that he so desperately wanted to say. Not knowing what to do and not wanting her to get off the plane, he just kept looking at her, hoping he could convey everything he was feeling in that look.

_Maybe, just maybe, I don't have to say anything, because she knows exactly what I am feeling just by the way I am looking at her_, he thought.

"What Danny?" she asked in frustration.

_And maybe not_. "Your mascara is smudged," he blurted out.

"What? Oh, God, Danny. I can't believe you let me almost walk out there to meet Cliff looking like a hot mess." She began digging in her purse, looking for her compact.

"Here, let me." Danny reached up and touched her face, swiping his thumb across her cheek while wiping away the smudge of mascara that had run down her face as she slept. He let his hand linger on her cheek for a little bit longer than he intended to or was necessary, while he looked directly into her eyes.

She looked down to the floor and bit her bottom lip. "Thanks," she whispered as her cheeks became rosy. She immediately turned around and headed for the exit without looking back at him.

Danny let out the breath that he had been holding in this whole time. "What the hell Castellano!" he whispered to himself. That really was his last chance and he knew he had blown it by not saying anything. Feeling resigned, he tossed his leather duffle bag over his shoulder and headed for the exit.

She wasn't waiting for him when he stepped off the plane and he wasn't really expecting her to in light of that very awkward encounter. She would have headed to baggage claim to retrieve her bags before tracking down Cliff. Danny didn't have any checked baggage, so he could have easily left and headed home without saying goodbye. He knew it would be better for him to leave without saying goodbye and without having to witness her reunion with Cliff. But in spite of everything, he found himself heading towards baggage claim to see if she needed a hand.

_I'm an emotional cutter_, he thought.

As he made his way to baggage claim, he saw Cliff first. He was standing at the bottom of the escalator, holding up a sign that read, I'm so sorry, babe. Please forgive me_. _

_Really?_ Danny thought. That's all this dimwit can come up with. Mindy had poured out her heart in that letter. Okay, okay, so he was the one that had poured out his heart, but Cliff didn't know that, and all this guy can come up with is, I'm so sorry, babe. Please forgive me_._

_Pathetic. He doesn't deserve her… _

Didn't Cliff know that this was his chance to create that romantic comedy moment that Mindy was always talking about? He should have brought her flowers and candy and a marching band! Something that really showed her what he meant to her.

Danny would have done that and more if she had sent that letter to him.

"Hey." Danny gruffed in his New York accent.

"Hey Danny! Have you seen Mindy?"

"She's probably just getting her bags. You know how she likes to pack for every occasion." Danny replied.

"I wanted to surprise her and pick her up from the airport. We had a big fight. I don't know if she told you about it. I made a huge mistake and almost let the best thing in my life right now go. Well, I've come to my senses thanks to Morgan and Peter and a letter she sent me last night. She's persistent." Cliff smiled sheepishly.

"I can see that." Danny said as his eyes darted down to Cliff's pathetic little sign. "If you hurt her again, you'll have to deal with me."

Cliff looked at him surprised and Danny wondered whether he could kill someone with a look. He hoped so because he was giving Cliff his best Clint Eastwood stare down.

_Do you feel lucky, punk? Well, do you? _

Before Cliff could respond to Danny, Mindy walked up, dragging her bags behind her in one hand and holding a doughnut in the other. She was clearly struggling to manage it all, but there was no way she was not going to eat that doughnut even if it fell on the floor. Danny smiled in spite of himself. The five second rule existed because of her!

"God, I love doughnuts! I was starving and made a beeline to the Dunkin Donuts counter. Sorry I didn't wait for you, Danny." She said while studying her chocolate-covered doughnut.

"Hi Cliff." Mindy said bashfully just as she was about to hug him.

"Well, I'm going to catch the subway home. I'll see you later." Danny stated loudly without meeting her eyes.

"Do you want to share a cab with Cliff and me? You don't want to take the AirTrain and then the subway home. It will take you over an hour!" Mindy responded indignantly. Danny noticed that Cliff clearly looked disappointed that she was suggesting that he join them.

"Nah. I'm good. I've had enough of cars and open spaces for a while. There's nothing like getting on a crowded subway train to make you realize your home. Besides, you kids need some alone time."

He couldn't believe that he had just said that. _Nice, good job_, he thought to himself.

Cliff silently mouthed, "Thank you."

"Danny." She stated as she looked at him curiously.

"Yeah, Min."

She took a small step towards him, searching his features to see if everything was alright. "I'll see you at work later today?"

"Yeah, of course, I'll see you later."

He walked toward the AirTrain, gritting his teeth the whole way. As he walked away from them, he silently kept telling himself over and over again, _Do not look back, do not look back, do not look back_...

And he didn't.

**A/N: I hope you enjoyed it! Let me know what you think! I've had this idea that the kiss was just a dream in my head for a while now. I wouldn't mind if it ended up being true because I enjoy pinning Danny, as evident by this chapter. **


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The subway was more crowded than Danny anticipated. It was packed with Monday morning commuters, each one jockeying for a place on the train. He squeezed between a guy holding what suspiciously looked like a dead cat and a disheveled woman who was clearly having a conversation with an imaginary person. What can you say? This was just a typical day on the New York City transit system!

What he loved about the subway was the fact that he could be closed off and surly and nobody paid him a bit of attention. No one cared if his heart was broken. Most people wouldn't even look up from their morning paper, which was perfectly fine with him. He could swim around in regret and self-loathing as much as he wanted. He didn't even mind all the elbows and smells that he encountered. He just let the rocking of the train do all the talking.

It took him roughly an hour to get home from the airport. He was exhausted and threw his bag down on the floor as he crossed the threshold of his apartment. The last couple of days had been an emotional roller coaster. Seeing his dad for the first time in years and confessing his heart to the woman he loved, even if she didn't know it, was a lot for a guy like him to take in.

He sat down on his couch and looked around his apartment. It was neat and tidy. He prided himself on having a clean, orderly apartment but it was also a bit cold and lonely. So very lonely…

Almost as soon as he sat down, he was up again. He realized he couldn't sit in his living room all morning feeling sorry for himself or he would go crazy. He didn't want to go into the office just yet, so the only logical conclusion would be to go for a run. He went into his bedroom, quickly changing his clothes and throwing his gym shoes on.

Danny left his apartment building and decided to head downtown in the opposite direction of Mindy's apartment. He thought he would just jog a couple of miles, at a nice comfortable pace.

_This is exactly what I needed_, he thought. _I need to clear my head and put as much space between me and her, metaphorically speaking that is_.

Despite trying not to think about her, she slowly crept into his thoughts. He thought about how she had come to save him when he was lost in the desert and about how she had been slowly saving him ever since she came into his life, making his world seem brighter and bigger and happier even. He couldn't pinpoint exactly when he started to like her. He just woke up one morning looking forward to seeing and talking to her and ever since then he's pretty much been a lost cause. She had made her way in and no matter what he did he couldn't stop thinking about her. It was infuriating!

Thoughts about her naturally drifted to wondering what she was doing right now, which inevitably lead to thinking about her and Cliff. And before he knew it, he was thinking about how Mindy and Cliff were probably at her apartment, laughing and making out at this very minute on the path to reconciling.

He soon picked up the pace, weaving between ladies with baby carriages, dog walkers, tourists, fire hydrants, and taxis. Before he knew it, he was running at full speed, as fast as his legs could take him, long past the route that he had intended to take. His heart was beating out of his chest and his legs were on fire but he kept pumping.

_Maybe if I run fast enough, I can out run her, out run my feelings for her_, Danny thought.

He ran until he couldn't run any more, until he couldn't breathe anymore. He finally slowed down, hunching over as he tried to catch his breath. The sound of him heaving brought over an old woman who asked him if he was having an asthma attack.

"No." Gasp. "Just." Gasp. "Running." He managed to get out. She tsked him and mumbled something about kids today before slowly walking away.

He hunched over again, grabbing his side. _Nope. Mindy was still there. Apparently, you can't out run your feelings_, he thought. _But it was worth a try – right?_

Danny slowly started making the walk back to his apartment, gulping for air with each step. About an hour later, he finally reached his apartment building. He decided to take the stairs because he wanted to feel the physical pain for a little bit longer. Physical pain was so much easier than the emotional pain. He learned that after his divorce to Christina and it was one of the main reasons he went to the gym so frequently. He entered his apartment, making his way to his bedroom and throwing himself down on his bed, face first.

He was so tired. _I'm just going to lay here for just a minute and then I'm going to shower and go to work_, he thought to himself. His eyes fluttered shut. _Just a quick five minute nap…_

* * *

His phone began to ring.

He immediately sat up in bed. _Shit._ He was still in bed. _What time is it?_

"Hello?" he answered trying to sound nonchalant.

"Dr. C. It's Betsy. Your two o'clock is here. Where are you?" _Shit._

"I'm heading out the door now. I'll be there in ten minutes."

Danny threw the phone down, jumped up, and began undressing as he hopped to the bathroom. He turned on the water as hot as it would go before stepping into the shower. He let the water flow down his head, past his body, and down the drain. It felt good on his sore muscles.

He reached for his dandruff shampoo. It immediately reminded him of the time that Mindy had been standing in his shower, while making fun of the fact that he used dandruff shampoo. Come to find out upon her return from Haiti that she used dandruff shampoo too! Prescription strength, no doubt! He rolled his eyes. He was a hopeless case – even his shampoo reminded him of her.

Realizing that he couldn't stand in the shower contemplating their shared love of dandruff shampoo any longer, he turned off the water, quickly drying off. He put on some dark jeans and a blue button down shirt. He grabbed his keys and made his way downstairs. His hair was still wet as he hailed a cab. There was no time for the subway or walking, his usual mode of transportation to the office.

Ten minutes later he was standing in front of Betsy, asking for Mrs. Whitaker's chart.

"Umm. It was here a minute ago. I don't know what happened to it," Betsy replied.

Just as she finished talking, Morgan came around the corner. "Hey Dr. C! Dr. L is in with Mrs. Whitaker now."

"What? Why? Mrs. Whitaker is my patient!" Danny yelled.

"Relax, Danny. I had a gap in my schedule and I noticed you were late so I thought I would help out. It's no big deal." Mindy huffed as she stepped towards him.

"No big deal? No big deal?! It is a very big deal. She's my patient, Mindy. Not yours. You have no right."

"I have no right. Oh really?" She started at him, her cheeks flush with anger. "Fine. Here is her chart. You finish the exam." She barked as she pushed the chart in front of him, storming past him into her office and slamming the door behind her.

Both Morgan and Betsy gave him a disapproving look.

"What? What did I do?" Danny asked sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck.

"You weren't very nice. Dr. L was just trying to help." Morgan noted. "She was going on about how you had really helped her with Cliff so she wanted to return the favor."

"Oh brother," he said as he glanced towards Mindy's office.

* * *

He first had to take care of Mrs. Whitaker before he could apologize to Mindy.

He grabbed the file and headed towards the exam room. "Hello, Mrs. Whitaker. I'm so sorry I'm late. There was unexpected traffic. How are you feeling this week?" _It isn't a total lie_, he thought_. Traffic was one of the reasons I'm late. _

"Oh, I'm fine," she said as she patted her growing bump. "That nice Indian doctor was taking care of me before you got here."

"Yes, Dr. Lahiri is a very good doctor. One of our best." he stated as he skimmed Mrs. Whitaker's latest tests results with his red, granny glasses perched on the tip of the nose.

"Do you know if she is seeing anyone?"

"Why do you ask?" He peered down at her with a frown on his face.

"I have a younger brother that I think she would be perfect for. It's so hard for nice, single people to meet each other in the City." She smiled.

"Well, she's taken."

"Oh really. That's too bad." She said disappointingly.

"Yeah, she's promised to someone. You know how it is. She's Indian."

"I didn't think they had arranged marriages anymore?"

"Her family is old school."

She eyed him suspiciously, clearly not believing him.

He smiled at her, acting as if it was perfectly normal to claim that a female doctor in his office was involved in an arranged marriage. "Now let's get you up on this bed and see how things are going."

"Okay," she replied hesitantly.

"Everything looks really good. Your pregnancy is progressing nicely. I'll see you back in a month." Danny stated as he led Mrs. Whitaker out of the exam room.

_One problem down. One more to go, _he thought as he glanced in the direction of Mindy's office_. _

He walked towards her office and paused as he stood outside of her door. _This isn't going to be easy_, he thought.

He knocked. "Go away!" she yelled.

"Mindy, it's me. Please let me in." Danny pleaded.

She swung upon the door, clearly still fuming from earlier. "What do you want? I'm very busy right now."

Danny walked past her and noticed a People magazine and a half-eaten salad on her desk. She clearly wasn't busy at all but using it as an excuse because she was still mad at him.

"I wanted to say that I'm really sorry. I shouldn't have yelled at you earlier. I know you were trying to help and I appreciate it."

Mindy seemed to soften a bit but her arms were still crossed in front of her chest and she looked at him as though he should continue.

"I'm tired and jetlagged and still processing the stuff with my Dad. And I took it out on you."

"Oh Danny," Mindy whispered as she stepped forward and wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him.

"I know it wasn't easy for you to forgive your dad for leaving you and Richie but I think it is going to be really good for you. I'm so proud of you!" She said as she let go of him, giving him a big smile.

"Thanks. So we're good?" Danny asked.

"Yeah, we're good."

"Great. Well, I'll let you get back to what you were working on before I knocked on your door." Danny smirked as his eyes darted across the People magazine and her lunch.

Mindy smiled sheepishly.

Just as Danny was about to walk out of Mindy's office, she asked, "Do you think Cliff and I belong together?"

Danny stopped dead in his tracks. His mind was spinning. "Uh…I can't…I, I mean what do I know…" he stuttered. What was he supposed to say? He didn't want to say the wrong thing but he also didn't want to tell her that he thought she and Cliff should be together.

She looked down at her desk, frowning slightly.

"I'm not sure that any two people belong together. I thought Christina and I belonged together and look how that turned out. I'm not the best person to speak about successful relationships."

He felt like a jerk. As her friend, he knew he should tell her that everything was going to work out and her and Cliff were going to have beautiful babies together, but he just couldn't bring himself to do it.

"Did something happen with you and Cliff this morning?"

"No, not really. We decided to take it slow."

"Well, slow isn't a bad thing, Min. It's not your style, of course! But, slow can be good." He said giving her a half smile.

"Yeah, I guess. But it's never a good sign when a guy wants to take it slow."

Not knowing what else to say, Danny walked back to Mindy's door, intending to leave. He paused with his hand on the door knob and his back turn towards her. "He likes you. It's obvious by the way he looks at you that he wants to be with you." He turned around to look at her with his hand still on the door knob—a lifeline that steadied him as he continued. "Sometimes you have to read the signs when he's not saying anything. Some guys aren't good about expressing their feelings so you might have to take the lead here."

Mindy looked at him with surprise and was about to say something when Danny turned around and walked out her door.

He walked straight to his office, closing the door behind him. He sat down in the chair behind his desk and rubbed his face with his hands. _Why can't I tell her those things without it being about Cliff? I practically pushed her into his arms. _

_How's that saying go, if you love something set it free. If it comes back to you, it's yours. If not, it was never meant to be… _

_Ugh. That's dumbest thing I've ever heard, _he thought_. _

He signed before turning to the stack of files on his desk, losing himself to paperwork for the rest of the afternoon.

* * *

The rest of the week was pretty quiet. He tied to avoid Mindy as much as possible without it appearing as though he was avoiding her, which is a skill that he had mastered over the years but rarely used since her return from Haiti. But unlike with times past, it wasn't all that hard to avoid her, as she came in late and left early most days and she didn't barge into his office five times a day to discuss the latest breaking news on TMZ or Perez Hilton.

_I guess she's busy working on her relationship with Cliff_, he thought_. _


	3. Chapter 3

_D—_

_Meet me on the patio at 7 p.m. I need your help with something. Please. _

_Love, _

_Min._

He had found the note lying on his keyboard when he came into the office that morning to do some paperwork. He liked the office on Saturdays. It was quiet. A man could think, without all the noise and chaos that came with the workweek.

He had debated with himself about whether he would return to the office at 7 p.m. to help her. He could just tell her that he didn't get her note because he hadn't gone into the office that morning.

_Who was he kidding? She would never buy that_. She knew he worked on Saturdays, every Saturday, in fact. So, he had begrudgingly made his way back to the office after his workout.

He slipped the handwritten note back into the pocket of his leather jacket just as the elevator doors opened to their floor. He stepped out and walked towards the Shulman and Associates sign. It was still dark and suspiciously quiet in the office considering she was supposed to be there.

_If she isn't here, so help her god._

He made his way to the patio and stepped past the threshold. He looked down and saw that candles and rose petals covered every nook and cranny, soft music was playing in the background, and champagne was chilling in the corner. It looked like a Valentine's Day card had exploded all over the place.

He immediately turned around and headed for the door.

"Danny Castellano!" She yelled from below. "I saw you. I know you're here."

_Shit. _What was he going to do now? He didn't want to be a part of her man catching scheme to win Cliff back. It became all too clear what she wanted. She probably had some banner of love that she needed him to hang up or something. That or she wanted him to take the basketball goal down because it didn't fit the mood of the evening!

"Danny get down here."

He sighed. _Fine_, he thought. _I'll hang up the banner or whatever she wants and get the hell out of here as quickly as possible_.

"What's this all about?" He asked in an irritating tone as he descended the stairs. "I have a life, you know. I have plans tonight, so just tell me what you want me to hang or take down so I can get out of here before Cliff arrives." He didn't have plans, of course, but he didn't want her to know that.

"This isn't for Cliff." She replied.

_What? Had she moved on to another guy already? This woman had the attention span of a gnat. _

She walked over to him, grabbing his hand as she led him over to a heart-shaped spot on the floor.

"Oh, god, I'm so nervous." She squeaked. "My hands are so sweaty, Danny. How do you deal with this all of the time?"

"My hands aren't sweaty _All _of the time." He barked.

She let out a long, slow sigh as she closed her eyes. "Ok, here goes nothing," she whispered.

_What is going on?_ He wondered. _Why was she so nervous? Her hand was pretty sweaty. Is this what his hands felt like? It was pretty gross actually. _

"Daniel," she paused. "Um…I realize that I don't know your middle name."

"It's Mussolini."

"Mussolini, really? That's soooo Italian."

"I am Italian, Min."

"Daniel Mussolini Castellano. When I first met you, I thought, wow, that guy is so smart and handsome. He's a really good attending physician. And I wasn't the only one. All the girls thought so.

"You were so confident and sure of yourself. You're bravado was charming at first, and then not so much. You were always barking orders and acting like you were so much smarter than the rest of us.

"I was so self conscious around you. Every time I said something, you just looked at me like I had three heads or something. Like you had no idea what I was talking about. I thought you were such a jerk!

"And then one day, you took pity on me. I was studying in the doctor's lounge for my final medical licensing exam. I was a complete wreck. You must have known that I was freaking out, because you didn't make any snide remarks. I asked you a question. I don't even remember what the question was now but you answered it without the slightest bit of superiority in your tone. You sat down beside me and began quizzing me and answering all of my other questions. You stayed up all night helping me study for that exam even though you had spent the whole day at the hospital.

"We fell asleep on the couch. The first of many times together. You then woke me up and wished me _Good Luck_.

"It was at that moment, that I knew you were a good guy and I was determined to make you my friend!" She smiled slightly as she looked down to the floor. "Of course, if I knew how long and arduous the road was going to be, I might not have ventured down that path." Her eyes returned to his. "But I'm so glad I did."

He returned the smile. _What was she saying exactly?_

"Because underneath that tough guy exterior is a warm heart beat! You can still be a jerk sometimes, don't get me wrong. You can be closed off and full of yourself and egotistical and completely out of touch with the latest fashions and trends."

He put his hand up. "I get it, Min. I'm an old, cranky bastard."

She ignored him, continuing on. "I know the real you. I know that inside you're just a fat kid from Staten Island, wanting to fit in."

His eyes got big as he looked down at her. He sighed. _She was right. I am just a fat kid from Staten Island and that's probably all I'll ever be to her. _

"Do you want to know what's so great about that?" She looked at him expectantly. He looked back at her but dared not answer. "I'm just a fat kid from Boston, wanting to fit in too!" she beamed.

"I don't know when it happened exactly. Part of me thinks that it was always there, you know. But I was too stupid or scared to realize it. And another part of me thinks it is so shockingly new that I'm still trying to process it. All I do know is that standing here before you, at this very moment, I love you." She took a deep breath. "I am in love with you, Daniel Mussolini Castellano. So, I was wondering if you might consider loving me back?"

His heart was pounding out of his chest. _Did she just say what he thought she said? Did she just say that she loves me? Surely not. I must have misunderstood her._ It finally dawned on him as his eyes swept across the patio again with the candles and roses. This was all for him. There wasn't another guy. This man trap was for him.

She was looking at him, waiting for him to say something.

He gave her one of his trademark Castellano smiles before closing the space between them in an instant. He grabbed her and slammed his lips onto hers. He kissed her passionately, forcefully, like the way a man should kiss a woman he is totally and completely in love with.

When he finally pulled away from her lips, he looked deep into her eyes and whispered, "I love you too." There was more he wanted to say – a lot more – but it was enough for now.

"Oh, thank god. I thought for a minute you were going to leave me hanging, Castellano!"

"Never," he smirked.

"Of course, I knew you had un-lamp-like feelings for me! Your little speech earlier this week didn't fool me." she grinned.

He captured her lips again – this time tenderly. Her lips belonged to him and he was going to spend the rest of life making sure he earned them.

**A/N: I really wanted Mindy to be the one to make the grand romantic gesture this time! I don't think we really know what's going on her head with respect to Danny so I'm really looking forward to seeing how she reacts to Danny's kiss when the show returns. Well, anyway, I hoped you enjoyed this little chapter! **


End file.
